NARITA, Japan (Reuters) - Former world chess champion Bobby Fischer, wanted by the United States for defying sanctions on Yugoslavia, has applied for political asylum in Japan while he appeals against a decision to deport him.
Fischer, 61, arrived in Japan in April and was detained at Narita airport near Tokyo last month when he tried to leave for the Philippines on a passport that U.S. officials say was invalid.
The chess master has been wanted in the United States since 1992, when he defied U.S. economic sanctions against Yugoslavia to play a chess match there against his old rival Boris Spassky.
Japan accepts only political refugees. Fischer's supporters in Japan say he is being persecuted by the United States.
"He walked into the country, got stamped in legally with a visa," said Tokyo-based Canadian communications consultant John Bosnitch, who has been advising Fischer.
U.S. authorities had suddenly notified Japanese officials in June that Fischer's passport had become invalid, Bosnitch added.
Fischer disappeared after the 1992 match, apparently traveling in Europe and Asia, only to resurface after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States in an interview on Philippines radio in which he praised the attacks.
Fischer disappeared until the 1992 match against Spassky, whom he again defeated, then vanished again until his remarks on the Sept. 11 attacks. Fischer, whose mother was Jewish, has also stirred controversy with anti-Semitic remarks.
(This story has had sections omitted for the sake of brevity)
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Why would U.S. authorities suddenly notify Japanese officials that Fischer's passport had become invalid?
Because in an interview on Philippines radio he praised the 9/11 attacks on the United States. READ: He pissed somebody off.
Bobby Fischer has always been a bit of a nutjob, smart, but a nutjob. However, he is seriously being targeted for other reasons...
Fischer, 61, arrived in Japan in April and was detained at Narita airport near Tokyo last month when he tried to leave for the Philippines on a passport that U.S. officials say was invalid.
The chess master has been wanted in the United States since 1992, when he defied U.S. economic sanctions against Yugoslavia to play a chess match there against his old rival Boris Spassky.
Japan accepts only political refugees. Fischer's supporters in Japan say he is being persecuted by the United States.
"He walked into the country, got stamped in legally with a visa," said Tokyo-based Canadian communications consultant John Bosnitch, who has been advising Fischer.
U.S. authorities had suddenly notified Japanese officials in June that Fischer's passport had become invalid, Bosnitch added.
Fischer disappeared after the 1992 match, apparently traveling in Europe and Asia, only to resurface after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States in an interview on Philippines radio in which he praised the attacks.
Fischer disappeared until the 1992 match against Spassky, whom he again defeated, then vanished again until his remarks on the Sept. 11 attacks. Fischer, whose mother was Jewish, has also stirred controversy with anti-Semitic remarks.
(This story has had sections omitted for the sake of brevity)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Why would U.S. authorities suddenly notify Japanese officials that Fischer's passport had become invalid?
Because in an interview on Philippines radio he praised the 9/11 attacks on the United States. READ: He pissed somebody off.
Bobby Fischer has always been a bit of a nutjob, smart, but a nutjob. However, he is seriously being targeted for other reasons...
